New Komeito Party
The New Komeito Party (Hul. Neue Komeito Partei; Gao. Kōmeitō), or NKP, is a liberal conservative political party in Greater Hulstria. It was originally founded as the Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou in 2634. It later had two name changes, the first in 2641 when it became the Hulsterreich Sozialdemokratische Partei, and in 2650 when it became the Vereinigte Freiheit Allianz. After the events surrounding the Revolutionary Republican Army, the New Komeito Party became the successor party to the collapsed VFA. The party disbanded for an unknown reason in April of 2677 and nothing was heard from its leadership regarding the move; but later came back together in 2680. The NKP headquarters is in Kien and the party has regional offices in every crownland. Major cities in the crownlands sometimes have smaller headquarters run by volunteers that gave out party information and campaign items for national and local elections. History Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou was founded in February 2634 by Zhou Peng, Keizo Hata, and various other anti-monarchy, social democratic, pro-Gao-Showa citizens. It strongly opposed the Hulstrian Monarchy and supports the creation of the Republic of Gao-Soto. The S.D.R. believed that Hulstria truly belongs to the Gao-Showa people and that the Luthori invaded the sovereign Gao-Showan lands. The political party's first election was in April 2635, and at the time the party was still largely unestablished; it received only 0.03% of the vote. In the Summer of 2636, the SDR Manifesto was released and in the following election the party took a large victory, becoming the largest party in Hulstria. Over 38 million people voted for the party. In the Hulstria Crownland, the party won 48% of the votes. Party Reformation In early 2641 compromise became close to reach when it was proposed that an elected Head of State be established while still keeping the monarchy. This led to the SDR's organization leaders to begin discussion on whether to drop its anti-monarchist affiliations if the bill passed. Another consideration that was made in the meeting was to change the party name and have it officially in Hulstrian; while also keeping the SDR as an organization within the party for the representation of the Gao-Showa. Current party proposals include: Moderate Social Democratic Party, Hulstrian Unity Party, Social Democratic Party. The party leader meetings are currently still going on and will not be concluded officially until the passing or defeat of the constitutional democracy bill. A couple days later, officials decided to go with the abandonment of anti-monarchist views and embracing the concept of an elected Head of State alongside the Monarch. This decision further increased the chances of even more party reforms. Foundation of the Hulsterreich Sozialdemokratische Partei In March 2641, Chairman Zhou announced that following next month's elections that party would become the Hulsterreich Sozialdemokratische Partei (Eng. Hulstrian Social Democratic Party, Gao. Hulstrian Shakaitou Demokuratikku Yakara). He also announced that Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou would become an internal organization of the party that would specially serve the interests of the Gao-Showa and represent them. The party faced criticism of its coalition partner the Hulstrian Nationalist Party for the support of more taxes. This led to the reconsideration of the HSP economic policy in late 2643 and following the meeting more conservative economic views were adopted. Officials concluded that the Hulstrian surplus was in well enough state that corporation tax and a luxury goods tax were not necessary. The party did not change its support of progressive income tax though, since a flat or fair tax would significantly reduce the surplus disallowing the government programs supported by the HSP. Later that year the party decided to drop social democracy as the official ideology and instead use simply "liberalism" as the official. HSP's increasing move towards the center-left away from the far/moderate-left resulted in this change. First Governor-General In April 2647, the elections for the first Governor-General of Greater Hulstria were held and the HSP was victorious. Karl van Gessel won the election; with a lead of almost 30 million votes. Van Gessel lost reelection in 2560. Later that year in September, he died of natural causes at 74 years old. A couple days later a new chairman was appointed, James Buchanan. Buchanan was a lower ranking party official with only experience on the local level of politics. He is also controversial among some for his mix of beliefs in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Buchanan is very disliked among party Christians for his strong belief in evolution and his criticism of the religious right and "Bible-bumping" Christians. Overall, he is a liberal with some right-wing influence on certain views. He has been known to frequently criticize the party for its decision to be called the "Hulstrian Social Democratic Party", stating that, "the party isn't even social democratic and having a name that says we are is just hypocritical." Party Leadership Under Buchanan When James Buchanan became the new chairman of the party, he had many new ideas for the party. One of the first changes that was made was the change of the party's name to the Vereinigte Freiheit Allianz (Eng. United Freedom Alliance). He changed some of the party's official views and ideologies too. In the whole process, some party members left and some people joined the party. Not long after the founding, Yasuo Kamura resigned from Staatsminister and left the party along with others who opposed the Buchanan reforms. The VFA was involved in the first meeting of the Imperial Human Rights Commission in the 2650s, being represented by John Breckenridge. In June 2658 the VFA left the Anti-Fascist Coalition and entered a united coalition that included two of Hulstria's rightist parties, the Fascist Authority Party and the Triad Coalition. In the election of 2662 the party suffered a massive defeat. As a result many VFA officials announcement their retirement, and Chairman James Buchanan went as far to commit suicide due to his dissatisfaction with the denial of rights and freedom by the Hulstrian population. Kenzo Noda Following the massive election defeat and the death of James Buchanan, Kenzo Noda became Chairwoman of the party. The VFA soon entered a large political battle with the Fascist Authority Party. Both sides bashing each other and tensions rising throughout the Diet. In the end the FAP mysteriously disbanded with no warning and elections were soon held to fill the large number of vacant seats. Following the elections the VFA entered a brief period in which the party was inactive and away from the political scene. Many considered this to be a break time for many of the party's members and a time to recover from the loss of retiring party members. The party reentered national politics in the fall of 2664 with many changes. It had new officials, new internal organizations, and an official website. During its time away, it also drafted four national flags that included Gao-Showa symbolism to represent the historical minority. These flags were presented to the Diet in November 2664. In 2666, radical republican protesters attempted to storm the VFA headquarters after taunts by royalists. The protests were held in an attempt to get the VFA to increase its republicanism and fight harder for a republic. In the days following the end of the protest, the republican faction of the party called for a new Chairman to be elected despite the fact that Kenzo Noda herself was a republican. The faction felt that she and other officials in the party were not doing enough to fight the monarchy. Revolutionary Republican Army Almost a month after the protests of November, the radical republicans managed to remove Kenzo Noda and all of her advisers. The VFA officials resisted the radicals and locked up the headquarters in Kien to prevent them from using it. The radical republicans in reaction threatened the VFA officials forcing them out of the political scene. The VFA moved underground and no longer could run candidates, the Revolutionary Republican Army was now in charge. In mid-2667 a number of high-ranking VFA officials were kidnapped by the RRA and imprisoned. This was met by the Christian Liberal Party calling for action from the Internal Ministry and for those responsible to be put on trial. Shortly before the end of the trials of the RRA officials, the New Komeito Party was formed by VFA-loyalists who declared the NKP the successor the VFA. With many of the VFA's older members retiring, the VFA officials accepted this new party as their successor since it already was structured together, unlike the VFA which at this point was collapsed. The RRA officially disbanded in 2669 when its affiliates were all arrested following legislation passed by the Diet. New Beginning, the New Komeito Party When the Revolutionary Republican Army finally collapsed the New Komeito Party officially became the successor of the Vereinigte Freiheit Allianz. Kenzo Noda was offered the position of Chief Representative, equivalent to Chairman, but she refused and instead became Vice Representative. The NKP changed in many ways but still remained the same on some issues. The main change was the move away from republicanism and towards royalism. In the 2673 election the NKP had a large victory, becoming the second largest party and making it to the second round of the Governor-General elections with Suzuki Kazuhiro. In the next elections, the party lost around thirty seats and remained above 100 seats. Not long after the elections in 2677, the party mysteriously disbanded with no explanation from its leadership. End of Silence In March 2680, after over a couple years of silence by the party, it returned to Hulstrian politics. In 2684, after almost fifteen years as leader, Suzuki Kazuhiro retired and was replaced by Michael Allen as Chief Representative. Offices Held See VFA Article For VFA/HSP Offices * Minister of Environment & Tourism: Kourtney Mitchell (Nov. 2673 - Apr. 2685) * Minister of Science & Technology: Hiroshi Endo (Nov. 2673 - Apr. 2685) Figures in the NKP Chief Representatives Vice Representatives Cabinet Candidates/Area Advisers * Staatsminister: Michael Allen * Foreign Affairs: Beverly Thompson * Internal Affairs: Zacchaeus Buchanan * Finance: Katamo Satana * Defense: Kenneth Shinseki * Justice: Kay Ruthven * Infrastructure & Transport: Walter Beaman * Health & Social Services: Albert Ritter * Education & Culture: Ayaan Abdulle Isse * Science & Technology: Mitchell Williams * Food & Agriculture: Elizabeth Foxx * Environment & Tourism: George Phillips * Trade & Industry: Andrew Keating Party Platform The NKP's official ideology is liberal conservatism. The NKP has a party platform that outlines the basic views of the party by eight categories. Below, each category is summarized from its larger form. National Security Hulstria should maintain a strong well-equipped military to defend against any enemies. The military should be voluntary and conscription should not occur. Dangerous weapons (nuclear, biological, and chemical) should not be permitted for they also harm civilians. Landmine use should be regulated to ensure that when wars end, mines are gone. There should be an intelligence agency to ensure we know what's going on and that our nation is not taken by surprise. A strict immigration policy should exist to keep out illegals and criminals. Immigrants should be required to learn Hulstrian and speak it in public. Hulstria should welcome refugees who come and take up jobs and become productive citizens. Veterans should be greatly cared for their service to Hulstria. They should be given economic opportunities and health/disability insurance. Hulstria should promote human rights internationally and shun groups that restrict human rights or practice things like slavery. Our nation should also aid democratic nations that are facing troubles and need help, this creates new allies and promotes democracy abroad. Economy Komeito is supportive of a mixed free market system in Hulstria. Self-reliance and hard-work should be greatly encouraged, though in times of trouble the government should step in if its seen as the last resort. Due to Hulstria's rich economy, there should be no corporation or sales taxes as they are not necessary. The income taxes that do exist should be relatively low, especially for families. Jobs in Hulstria should never be outsourced to other nations. Such a thing is never good and all it does is take from our nation. The government should also be supportive of small businesses which create new jobs and promote prosperity and hard-work. Hulstria should be innovative and research new technologies. Innovation is the future. We support union rights, collective bargaining, and other labor activities, but these activities should be modernized so that employers and employees can easily work together in the dishttp://particracy.wikia.com/index.php?title=New_Komeito_Party&action=submitcussion of change. Labor unions should also be subject to financial reporting so that it is ensured that workers funds are not misused. Lastly, we support labor union members to have the right to a secret ballot which ensures their right to privacy. Hulstria should engage in free trade with the majority of nations, especially those on Dovani. Komeito also supports strong protection of intellectual rights to oppose piracy. Energy Hulstria must access new sources of energy to replace oil. There is a total of five different sources that can be used and those are clean-coal, solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower. Natural gas is another available alternative. Demand of fossil fuels should be reduced and one way to start is by increasing efficiency therefore doing more with less. For cars, we should develop alternative fuels, such as biofuels or cellulosic ethanol. Healthcare Komeito supports a universal healthcare system in Hulstria. It must be ensured that all Hulstrians are healthy, for if one is healthy, then they are more productive. A healthy society would also increase life expectancy among our people. Quality of the healthcare should be top-grade and wait-times should be low. Medical research should be funded so that new medicines are discovered, especially ones that save lives. Education Education should be federally funded to ensure all schools have enough money to provide as much education as possible. When it comes to school decisions and policies, local communities should decide what is done, not the national government. Though, on the federal level, certain standards and regulations should be set for all schools to ensure that students are learning essential topics. Class sizes should be reduced as smaller classes are more efficient. We oppose an educational policy in which all are taught at the same level. Those who learn quick should be with other quick learners; those who learn slow, should be with other slow learners. Mixing the two together slows down everyone. Parents should be encouraged to have their children receive early childhood education. College costs should be subsidized to ensure that many students are able to move on to college and possibly receive a degree. Crime Hulstria should have a strict legal system that punishes criminals for their doings. Criminals in no way contribute to society. Families should be protected and online, there needs to be enough funding to track down predators and child pornographers. Also on the Internet, gambling should be illegalized. Gambling drains funds and destroys families. All criminals should be behind bars and away from the public. Mandatory sentences should be required for gang conspiracy crimes, violent or sexual offenses against children, rape, and assaults resulting in serious bodily injury. Gang rape, child rape, and rape committed in the course of another felony deserve, at the least, mandatory life imprisonment, though death penalty preferable. The death penalty should be efficient, quick, and accurate. Access to evidence should be easy and time on death row should be under a year long. Parole should not be offered to dangerous or repeat felons at all. Illegal drugs should remain as they are, illegal. We must fight against producers, traffickers, and distributors of drugs. Those struggling with addition should be helped and the government should endorse organizations and initiatives to work to fight drug addiction. Values We support the rights outlined in the Statute of Rights and will fight to protect them. We strongly support the separation of church and state and seek that the government does not endorse or restrict religion. Komeito also supports, to an extent, the right to bear arms. Automatic weapons should be outlawed, though smaller firearms such as pistols should remain legal with background checks. Symbols of Hulstria should be actively protected. Historic and cultural sites should be preserved for future generations to see. Burning of the flag of Hulstria should be illegal and punishable by fine. We do support a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, though the process should not be allowed when the baby is soon to be born and is almost fully formed. Our party supports a citizens right to euthanasia, given that they have received a court order allowing them to do so. Komeito also supports gay marriage and giving equal benefits to homosexual couples as those given to heterosexual couples. Lastly, Komeito seeks a moral society. This moral society having nothing to do with religion, but simply with how people act, dress, and talk. Cursing in public should be discouraged and even fined if continued. Pornography should be banned completely. Controversial clothing, such as sagging or spikes, should be outlawed; and practices such as piercing in places other than the ear and tattooing should be strongly discouraged. Music genres like rap that womanize and promote drugs and killing should be greatly regulated. All these things demoralize our country and corrupt our youth. The youth is our future and we should have a bright future. Party Political Compass Party Organizations * Demokratische Hulsterreich Jugend - The DHJ is the youth organization of the NKP that promotes political awareness and participation. * Freie Regenbogen Allianz - The FRA is a LGBT organization that promotes gay rights. * Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou - The SDR is an organization that represents the Gao-Showa in the NKP and helps them voice their opinions on a national level. * Vereinigte Buddhistisch und Taoic Vereinigung - The VBTV is a Buddhist and Taoic organization in the NKP for Hulstrians and Gao-Showa that follow Buddhism or a Taoic philosophy. There's also an international version of this organization that was created by the VFA, it is the International Buddhist & Taoic Association. * Vereinigte Frauenkoalition - The VF is a womens' organization in the NKP that serves their interests and promotes womens' rights. Party Legislation See VFA Article for VFA/SDR/HSP Legislation * Democratic Elections Act of 2670 * Equal Representation Act of 2670 * Public Nurseries Act of 2670 * Environmental Protection Act of 2670 * Call for Early Elections, October 2670 * Morality Act of 2686 * Strike Reform Act of 2686 * Gated Communities Act of 2686 * Tort Reform of 2686 * Gun Rights Reform of 2686 International Organizations * Against Child Labour * Against New World Order (ANWO) * Alliance for Capital Punishment * Counter-NWO Treaty Alliance Organization (CoTAO) * International Buddhist & Taoic Association * International Human Rights Movement * Internationalists * International Lesbian & Gay Rights Association (ILGRA) * International Pro-Choice Movement * International Science, Education, and Culture Organization * International Secularist Society * Organization for Free Trade (OFT) * Organization for the Rights of Atheists * Parties Against Hunting Endangered Animals * Parties for Promotion of National Languages * United Against Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons * United States Coalition * Western Dovani Cooperation Accord * World Anti-Slavery Union Past Logos Image:NKP_Logo.png|2669-2680 Image:NKP_Logo_2.png|2680-2681 External Links * Particracy Page * NKP Website Category:Inactive Parties in Hulstria & Gao-Soto